My sister and brother-in-law visited Japan for vacation this week, and they stopped by Osaka for about a day to visit me and say hello. Even though they were only in town for about 24 hours, we squeezed in a ton of shopping (100 yen stores!) and strolling about. However, it's not a Yuen sibling reunion unless there's lots and lots of food involved. We knew we wanted to have a special experience, and so we went ahead and splurged on something luxurious and unique for dinner.
Wagyu beef (和牛) is internationally known, referring to a special breed of cattle from Japan. These cows are pampered with special food, fed beer to stimulate their appetites, and sometimes massaged to promote muscle/fat distribution. Wagyu beef is known for its delicate veins of marbled fat and extremely tender meat. Different names are given to where the cattle are raised, the most popular one being from Kobe (神戸).
But while it's most well known (probably because it is exported to other countries), Kobe isn't necessarily considered the best in Japan. Another type of wagyu beef is called Matsusaka (松阪牛), and some consider it even better than Kobe. From a HK website introducing Japanese food:
Matsuzaka beef is more popular in Japan than internationally, the prime difference between Matsuzaka (from Mie prefecture) and Kobe beef is that the meat from Matsuzaka comes from female cows only, while Kobe meat comes from bullock or bulls. Whether it is that or because these heifers are not slaughtered until they are three years old (most other cattle is killed at two years or younger), beef connoisseurs say that Matsuzaka beef has a more complex and developed flavour, compared to beef from Kobe. Only 25,000 cows are killed a year, making the meat both rare and expensive.
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Through this narrow entryway, the beef awaits! (Had to poach this pic
from another online blog... so sorry!) |
With this kind of introduction, we were definitely salivating a little as dinnertime rolled around! But prior to eating, we were presented with some very difficult choices. Twelve different cuts of meat were offered, each one with a different fat distribution and ratio.
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| 12 different cuts of beef! Each one has its unique traits and texture... which made deciding very difficult! |
In the end, we decided to order two set menus, and supplemented that with a separate a la carte order of one of the richer cuts of beef.
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| We ordered the circled cuts of beef. |
Before the main event though, we were presented with some lovely appetizers as part of the two set dinners we ordered. There was plenty of food to share and taste.
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Assorted appetizer plate. Braised mushrooms, spinach, tamago (sweet-ish
egg), and okra. |
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Lightly seared beef sushi. It was as tender as a piece of good tuna,
with a rich beefy flavor. |
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Grilled Matsusaka Medium Toro Kalbi Short Rib
with Scallion and Salt. Cooked until nicely charred,
this beef never got tough, but remained juicy
with a tender texture. |
After this, the main even appeared. Beautifully-cut beef was presented to us, each mound looking like a delicate (and delicious) flower. The server very nicely showed us how much time to grill for a rare piece of meat, and we were on our way!
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Beautifully presented meat, along with some veggies we could add to
the grill. I thought it was great that each piece was clearly marked. |
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The special Marboroshi no Misuji cut that we ordered a la carte. This
picture really doesn't do it justice; the marbling was so pretty, no wonder
that it's sometimes called 霜降, or 'falling frost'. |
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Grilling. While it only took a few seconds for the meat to be ready,
it really didn't matter if we left it on a little longer; it beef remained
velvety in texture. |
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| Close-up of one beef slice. |
We started off with the leanest cut, and moved our way down the list. I was actually really glad that we got some of the lean beef to try, as it provided excellent contrast with the fattier cuts. Even though it was 'lean' and technically inferior, it was still incredibly tender (think about a good piece of filet mignon). The description said that this cut was often used in steak tartare... oh boy, I wish I had a chance to try that!
The remaining cuts were all very different than any beef I've ever had before. Up to this point, I still had felt like I was chewing on meat. But these other pieces were amazingly different. My taste buds recognized the intense beef flavor and richness from the fat, but the texture was unlike any meat I've had before. It's soft, but not unpleasantly so. I barely had to chew, as the meat practically melted in my mouth.
Rice and some cold noodles also accompanied the beef. The noodles were surprisingly refreshing, and were a great palate cleanser in between bites of the delicious beef.
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Cold noodles. The slight tartness from the soup base
and tomatoes provided a nice contrast to the meal. |
Even though it doesn't look like we ate a ton of meat (portion-wise, this was far less than having a steak), we found ourselves fairly full and satiated by the time we polished everything off. I couldn't imagine having this every day (or even once a week) though... the richness of the beef made this quite a heavy meal.
The set dinners also included dessert, which was green tea ice cream. But we ate all of it before a picture could be taken!
For such a special meal, this ended up very reasonably priced (maybe because I'm still basing out of New York standards). But beyond that, I was glad to have shared such a unique experience with my sister and brother in law! May many more interesting, unique, and delicious meals be in our future!
